Beverage lids for disposable beverage containers have been used in the past to prevent a beverage from being spilled outside of the beverage container. This is especially advantageous for travelers that may desire to drink a beverage in a vehicle, for example. Traditional beverage lids, however, can be cumbersome to handle when used in connection with beverages that may require condiments to be added thereto. For example, when the beverage lid is positioned to cover a cup of coffee, a consumer that has received the cup of coffee may desire to add, for example, milk, creamer, sugar, or sweetener to the coffee. In order to accomplish this, however, the beverage lid must be removed, the condiment of the deposited into the cup and be stirred, and the beverage lid must thereafter be replaced over the cup. Upon completing this process, the consumer must then dispose of the stirrer. This can be a difficult process to manage, especially when in a vehicle. Further, disposal of the stirrer is not a simple task in a vehicle. For example, the stirrer may find its way to the floor board of the vehicle or, even worse, the consumer may simply decide to litter.
Adding sugar to a beverage and stirring the sugar into the beverage is not always a very fast process. For example, the sugar may not initially dissolved into the beverage that is added. In such a case, it is desirous to continuously stir the beverage. When using, however, a traditional beverage lid, this would require continuous removal of the beverage lid in order to stir the beverage.
Such a typical beverage lid is illustrated, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 8,322,562 to Dybala. Such a lid may be positioned over a beverage container to prevent a beverage held within the container from being spilled out. The beverage lid illustrated in the Dybala '562 patent includes a drinking opening to allow a consumer to sip the beverage. The Dybala beverage lid, however, must be removed in order to add anything to the beverage contained within the beverage container, and to also stir that which is been added to the beverage.
There have been some devices introduced to block the drinking opening formed in a beverage lid. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 8,387,795 to Rogers, et al. discloses a combined beverage lid plug and book mark. After a consumer is done using the bookmark, the consumer may use the bookmark to block the opening in a beverage lid. This may be advantageous to prevent any of the beverage contained within the beverage container from being spilled outwardly through the drinking opening. The Rogers lid, however, still must be removed in order for a consumer to add any type of condiments to a beverage.
There have been some beverage lids for beverage containers that are not intended to be disposable that may include an electrically powered stirrer connected thereto. For example, European Patent No. EP 2 198 762 discloses a hot beverage making apparatus that include lid that has a motorized stirrer connected to a bottom portion thereof. This may be used to stir hot beverages, for example, cappuccino and other milk hot beverages.
Accordingly, there exists a need to provide a beverage lid that allows a user to add condiments to a beverage and to stir the condiments after being added without the need to remove the lid from the beverage container. This background information is provided to reveal information believed by the applicant to be of possible relevance to the present invention. No admission is necessarily intended, nor should be construed, that any of the preceding information constitutes prior art against the present invention.